If you’re considering launching or improving the efficacy of your SMS campaigns for your business, you’re likely on the right track to better responses and results.
For most consumers, the timing of a text message may be the difference between that text being considered a useful reminder or an annoyance, so it’s important to consider when to send those SMS reminders and other text-based marketing messages.
Know Your Audience for Timing Your SMS Campaigns Well
There are certain times your audience will not want to get messages from your SMS campaigns. If you know your customer or prospect because you’ve captured data about them or created a buyer persona to help you understand their life, affinities, likes, and dislikes, you can get a clearer picture of how to set up your SMS gateway and program your SMS application programming interface to send at ideal times.
Let’s use Kevin as an example. Kevin is consistent about his dental hygiene, and he, his spouse, and their son come to your dental practice, where you run marketing.
While Kevin and his spouse are pretty organized, managing a child while working full-time can feel overwhelming for both of them. Kevin’s mother-in-law recently moved into his family’s home, too, and he referred her to your practice for her denture maintenance.
Here are some facts that could help you determine when Kevin would not like to receive a message from your campaigns using your SMS API.
— Kevin puts his son to bed every night at 8 p.m. and treasures his 30 minutes of uninterrupted storytime.
— He wakes up at 7 a.m. daily and showers before the rest of the family is up.
— He’s 38 years old and works in technology.
— Kevin works at home and doesn’t have a commute. He and his spouse share a car.
— On the weekends, he and his family like to visit local parks.
— He’s not responsible for child care during his lunch hour.
— He works between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. His spouse or mother-in-law usually cooks while he handles child care after work hours.
— In the late evening hours, he likes to game. Sometimes on the weekends, he plays Dungeons & Dragons with his friends.
— His family plans major expenses like vacations, orthodontics, new car purchases, and more at least a year in advance whenever possible. He’s happy to plan but dislikes depleting his savings unnecessarily.
— Kevin makes grocery shopping decisions for his family.
Thanks to this information about Kevin’s habits, interests, and schedule, you can find the best time to send that reminder via SMS.
How Can You Send SMS Campaigns Effectively to This Customer?
Understanding Kevin’s routine, you can probably guess that he’d like to receive information about anything that could help him plan for major dental expenses in advance.
Although his child is still young, Kevin could be interested in ways to plan for the expense of braces in the future. And since Kevin’s whole family is pretty busy, they’d probably appreciate reminders and easy DIY ways to schedule their appointments.
By sending campaigns through an effective omnichannel marketing platform like Mitto, you might consider the following:
— Sending messages during lunch and in the morning. This is when Kevin has free time.
— Sending advance reminders about scheduling routine appointments. Kevin’s the kind of person who appreciates being prepared.
— Sending reminders about the DIY scheduling system. He’s tech-savvy and manages his family’s calendar, after all.
— Providing more than 24 hours of notice when there’s a reminder. Kevin has a family calendar to consider in case he has to reschedule.
— Sending convenient early check-in options. This means Kevin can streamline his day.
When your marketing software has detailed customer information, the algorithm in your SMS API can also help you determine the best time to send the reminder.
Personalize That Message
Don’t forget to personalize that message.
As a tech-savvy parent approaching middle age, Kevin’s bombarded with lots of advertising messages, and his time and focus are limited. Personalization helps him keep track of whether you’re reminding him about his appointment or his son’s appointment, as those reminders probably also come to his phone.
You should consider being able to receive replies to your SMS reminders and other messages in your campaigns using a software solution like Mitto because text messaging is highly convenient for someone like Kevin.
As you can see, it’s all about knowing a bit about Kevin’s life and using common sense to deliver the messages he wants at the times that work best for him. Plus, it’s about the convenience your campaigns can offer him.
It’s a reminder service and a way to communicate with your dental office rather than a way for you to spam him with special offers he’ll never use.
If you always keep the customer at the center of your campaigns, good timing will follow. Keep this in mind when you manage your SMS API, and always allow yourself to be open to making campaign changes to improve results.
